LGT Capital Partners LTD. Boosts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 11.5%, owning 220,000 shares worth approximately $30.75 million after adding 22,700 shares in Q1.
• Multiple institutional investors, including von Borstel & Associates and Garde Capital, have recently purchased additional positions in Blackstone, highlighting strong institutional interest in the firm.
• Blackstone has raised its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.03 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 2.4%, with the payout showcasing the company’s strong earnings performance.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 220,000 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 22,700 shares during the quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $30,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Saturday, July 19th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.5%

BX stock opened at $170.42 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.68.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.

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